Beloved icon of Windows history appears to be in the rear view for good

For those upset about the lack of a start button in Windows 8, prepare yourself for another disappointment -- "Windows Blue", an upcoming short-cycle successor to Windows 8, is not expected to bring the feature back.

The source of this supposed leak is CNBeta, a site with close insider ties at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which gained respect by accurately leaking a number of early Windows 8 details.

Other info from the site includes suggests that Microsoft will further flatten the UI on the desktop (think the Metro/Windows 8 UI style), the taskbar/desktop will get tweaks, the price will be low (or free), and the new kernel version number will be v6.3 (corroborated by other independent reports). The final remnants of the Aero UI, which was a staple of Windows Vista and Windows 7 is also being bid adieu, like the Start button before it.

The start button went the way of the Dodo with Windows 8. [Image Source: Jason Mick/DailyTech]

Neowinreports that a summer launch of Windows Blue is expected. And its contacts close to Microsoft hint that the name will be some sort of riff on Windows 8, not Windows 9, as some suspected.

(For the record you can get a Start Menu-like menu by moving your mouse to the lower left corner of the screen and right-clicking. Voilà, magic!)

Did they stop selling Windows 7? If not, they never stopped selling the only product you say the 'people' want.

It's like, Windows 8 isn't being forced on you like the holocaust. It's a consumer choice. Windows 7 is still there, feel free to continue using it. See, isn't choice a nice thing? If you REALLY wanted, you could even easily install Hyper-V and setup Win7 right on there.

Honestly, I somewhat wish the physical start menu was visible so I don't have to pixel hunt with a dual monitor setup, but I'm all for the Modern UI at this point as a replacement to the start menu.

Inevitably, imo, we will see the more mobile friendly OS (win8) splinter from the more conventional desktop only OS (win7) to leverage each platform on its best suited device.

Unfortunately, MS could not do this right out of the gate because they would basically doom the project from the onset. Making it available in the manner they have (cheap, for all existing Win 7 machines) is actually quite smart from their standpoint as it makes the RT platform have a better chance than say, WebOS and BB.

Fact is, for consumers its a win. For power users such as I, touch is cool but I've been getting along fine without it for a long time. Thing is, though, I don't need to be a power user on the road, wherer a keyboard and mouse sucks and touch input is favorable. Win 8 lets me have both in that scenario and thats why it's a win.

I don't think Desktop PCs are going to be extinct by any means in 10 years, but there is an undeniable trend towards mobile and the market is too lucrative to ignore (any longer).

To sum up, if you hate Win 8, then don't use it. Win7 is still an option and I imagine we will see it around in an XP like manner for some time. I don't get any claim how Win8 makes people go to Linux or OS X. If you were happy with Win 7 (I think its sales dictate many are) but hate Win 8, why wouldn't you go back to what you already know you like?

May I add to your 2cents. Desktops will wither away,slowly, as you can see where MS is going with there Win8. Tablets, phones. Real gamers will stick it out with desktops, but as they admit, the enthusiasts are only about 5% of the market. I think the consoles will be the only choice in the near future. To my older friends I push laptops, even gave my wife one and junked the desktop. Its good to get rid of clutter, it sure opened up space in the kitchen. Were going back to small is beautiful, especially if all you do is answer emails, FB, and some browsing. Young people don't need and want big hawnking boxes, portability is what matters to them.

Agree because MS has this rule that says they only support the two latest OS's(excusing Corporations). which means that as soon as some form of win9 shows up 7 need not be supported any more,so they do force you to move up sometime whether you like it or not.

Lol odl fogie labels me obnoxious, overbearing, and even insensitive because I dare use the world holocaust. I guess in general people like you are exactly like people like me prefer not to even bother explaining things in the first place. Good luck with that narrow perspective of yours.

Lol, thanks for the support. Bottom line is I expected a tech site, and instead got a fan club. It's just time to leave dt behind personally. The trolls has moved in and they simply aren't leaving. Eh, I'm over it.